Shoe-La-La!: 06/05/15

Shoe-La-La! by Karen Beaumont is about a group of girls trying to pick out the right pair of shoes for an upcoming party. It's a fancy dress up party and I guess the right shoes will make all the difference — but don't ask me, shoes have never been my thing.

Anyway, with lots of flouncing rhymes, the girls go through trying every last shoe in the store. The elegantly dressed shop employee gets more and more distraught looking as the piles of shoes grow.

But time is up and alas, alack, no shoes! What's a girl to do? Personally I'd go with wear sensible shoes, but these girls have a different plan. They decide to decorate their own shoes with arts and crafts and bits and bobs at home.

OK, I like the creative solution. My artistically inspired daughter adores that option. But a gendered, very pink book about girls (even a diverse cast as this one) going gaga over shoes and dress up and fancy balls, is disappointing. It would have been better if there was less pink and maybe a boy or two. Or maybe even some non-binary kids to make the experience more inclusive.

Four stars

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